After what happened to Hiroki Kuroda yesterday, playing baseball seems like such a trivial affair. Yet, the daily grind of baseball demands a return to the field, so we have a game today in Phoenix. First things first, it looks like Kuroda will be okay, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reported Kuroda's CT scan was negative, and there were no fractures or bleeding.
What began as such a promising road trip ends today with the Dodgers scrambling, losers of three straight games, and hoping just to salvage today's finale in Phoenix to bring home a .500 record on the trip.
Randy Wolf gets the ball today, and he has pitched well for the last six weeks or so. After his worst start of the season, in Chicago, a performance after which Wolf felt "embarrassed" by the way he pitched, he has a 3.07 ERA over his last nine starts, and opposing batters are hitting .234/.289/.338 against him.
24-year old Yusmeiro Petit starts for the Diamondbacks. He has a 5.87 ERA on the season, but since returning to the starting rotation on July 4, Petit has pitched much better, with a 4.42 ERA. Still, he's averaging just over five innings per start, so if there was every a day for the Dodgers offense to break out by feasting on middle relief, today is it.
Joe Torre announced yesterday that knuckleballer Charlie Haeger is scheduled to make his Dodger debut Monday against the Cardinals, with Chad Billingsley returning to the rotation Tuesday, per Jim Peltz of the LA Times.
Get your guesses in for "Just A Bit Outside" here.
Game Time: 1:10pm
TV: KCAL